PLANTAIN FAMILY. 357 



lanceolate or lance-oblong 3-5-ribbed leaves, a grooved- angled scape, 

 tiiick and close spike, two of the sepals mostly united into one, and 2- 

 seeded pod. 



++ ++ Corolla pubescent outside; leaves indistinctly ribbed andfleshij. 



P. decipiens, Barn. Leaves S'-l'i' long, about equaling the slender 

 and rather loose spike, (ienerally ®, sometimes (g), in salt marshes from 

 X. .T, X. 



P. maritima, Linn., occurring on the coast, from Mass., N., is 11 and 



has a (li'nser spike. 



f- ■<- Fhtn-crs of two sorts as respects lein/ths of ^filaments and anthers; 

 some plants with cleistogamons floicers vjith stamens and style barely or 

 not at all protruded; other and less fertile plants have lonrj-exserted 

 stamens. 



P. Patagdnica, Jacq. Leaves narrow-linear to oblanceolate, silky, 

 sparingly-toothed or entire, 1-3-nerved ; scape 3'-12' long, with a dense 

 cylindrical spike ; seeds 2, oblong, oval or boat-shaped. Dry places, 

 mostly \V., very variable. ® 



* * Flowers nearly dicecioiis, the corolla in the most fertile plant closing 

 over the pod and formimj a kind of beak, the anthers not protruding ; 

 in the sterile plant the corolla is spreading and the anthers e.xserted; 

 stamens 4 or 2. ® (2) 



H- Stamens 4 ; leaves oblong or broader. 



P. Virginica, Linn. In sandy grounds, S., N. Eng., S. and W. ; hairy 

 or hoary, 2'-!)' high; leaves varying from oblong to obovate, nearly 

 sessile, 3-5-nerved, generally sparingly toothed ; spike rather dense ; seeds 



^"^^ ^ ■ -(-■<- Stame7is2; leaves linear or fHiform. 



P. pusilla, Nutt. Sandy soil, N. Y., S. and W. ; minutely pubescent, 

 the leaves entire and not fleshy; spike slender; pod short-ovoid and 4- 

 seeded, little exceeding the calyx and bract. 



P. heterophylla, Nutt. Leaves rather fleshy, sometimes toothed or 

 lobed below ; pod oblong-conical and lO-cc-seeded, about twice the length 

 of the calyx and bract. Low lands, Penn., S. 



